World Around Us

At Luvata, we want to use our unique technology know-how to influence the develoment of a sustainable modern world.

True sustainability requires that something has an overall neutral or positive effect on itself, the world and future generations. Processing tonnes of metal every year makes it nearly impossible for us to claim that today we are carbon-neutral - but we're working on it.

Our scale gives us a lot of opportunities to work with customers to produce end products that contribute to a more responsible future for everyone.

There are also other ways that we are working towards sustainability:

Minimising the use of packaging and chemicals.

Maximising energy-and-water-saving initiatives.

Investing in the morale and development of our staff.

Interacting constructively with the communities around us.

Surpassing legal, industry and ethical guidelines.

Expanding into markets that promote sustainable products and solutions.

Processing metal every day by melting, rolling, drawing, extruding and many other methods – this requires a lot of energy, water and some chemicals too.

We recognize that we still have a ways to go before we can say we have no impact on the planet, but we’re working hard to take every opportunity to be the best we can. Here are just a few examples:

The off-gases from melting and casting are removed by filtration and, where necessary, by afterburning. Any recovered dusts are recycled to up-stream smelters. The cooling water that comes directly into contact with cast products is treated to remove particles and are then re-circulated.

The modern casting processes that we have developed are more sustainable than conventional processes. They are continuous and produce rods, bars, tubes and wires that are already close in shape and dimension to being finished products. This eliminates further processing stages, which means that less energy is consumed.

Chemicals are recycled or treated. Often, we opt for mechanical processes over chemical ones to reduce chemical use - removed copper particles and dust from these processes are separated and recycled. Emulsions are used for cooling and lubrication are either recycled through ultra-filtration or destroyed by evaporation. The small amount of oil residue produced is sent to hazardous waste treatment plants.

Managing environmental issues is an integral part of the daily functions. In all of our operations, we are guided by our Environmental Policy. Our management systems and work routines abide by this policy at each manufacturing site and we are working towards ISO 14001 or EMAS accreditation across our business.

Best use of materials

In electrical and heat transfer applications, the excellent conductivity of copper helps us to design energy efficient equipment and systems. Because of the long life-cycle of copper-based equipment and systems, their lifetime total energy consumption is low and they have a minimal impact on greenhouse gas generation.

Sustainable products

Our focus is on responsible products that promote sustainability. We have made particular progress in solar photovoltaic energy, as well as bringing our experience to the production of wind turbines. In transmission, our oxygen-free copper is of the highest available grade, minimising losses in energy transmission in both heat transfer and electrical conductivity.

In all our partnerships, we aim to recommend the most suitable and most responsible material and solution for the challenge at hand.

People are the most important of our assets - without them we simply wouldn't be here. Our view of people has an important effect on the way we operate. When we think of people, we think of our staff, our customers and the communities that surround our operations.

Staff

Our culture is built on seven ideals - The Behavioural Principles: seven simple ways of living that everyone in the company adopts, every day. These are recognised and rewarded, as well as being the basis of our appraisal system. In addition, we have the TalentStream initiative, which encourages existing staff as well as all new talent to grow through their career.

Customers

We like to think beyond the simple idea of products and sales to develop long-term relationships with our customers. We aim to immerse ourself in our customers' products, operations and challenges, and to do all we can to bring long-lasting improvements. Our vision is to use our unique technology know-how to influence the development of a sustainable modern world.

Communities

At some of our locations, we employ a significant proportion of the local population. In others, we have universities and influential institutions as neighbours. Beyond that, we simply extend our efforts, wherever possible, towards being positive and productive contributors to society.